Fourth Forms C.

Core

The text
"I planted a dream in my children, and saved a small part of that dream for me."
Nina Huddleston, planter of dreams, is realizing her own small part this month when she
graduates from Arkansas State University Mountain Home with an associate of arts degree.
As winner of the university's faculty-elected Outstanding Academic Achiever Award, she will
also deliver the student address at graduation. She's 53.
"The reason Nina is the perfect graduation speaker is that she has taken advantage of
every opportunity available to her at ASUMH," said business teacher Karen Heslep. "She has
friends in every age group who respect her and call her their friend. She's gotten involved.
She helps people. She cares." "Nina is a good example of someone who comes back and
does it all," Heslep said. "She's experienced things you wish every student would."
When the youngest of Huddleston's three children left home for college, it was her turn.
She signed up for one class after another, and earned her associate of applied sciences
degree in business management. "It helped with empty nest syndrome," Huddleston said,
"but I wasn't finished learning. I came back to get my associate of arts." Her first semester
back, Huddleston earned an A in the three classes she took. She signed up for second
semester and earned A's again. Huddleston won first place in a national PBL competition in
Anaheim, Calif. last year. In July, she'll compete again in Nashville. "To come in first in the
whole nation was a neat experience," Huddleston said.
Huddleston says she always knew she could be an inspiration to her kids, but she didn't
realize she could inspire others as well until classmates started confiding in her. "When I
realized I've got the ability and the power to influence people positively, I jumped on it," she
said. Huddleston says she started encouraging fellow students to make it through one class
at a time, through one test at a time. She got encouragement herself from ASUMH faculty
and her husband, Dan. "He was so supportive. He's suffered quick meals and a lot of study
time."
Adapted ,by Deb Peterson May 2010, About.com Guide

-I-Reading Comprehension (12 marks)

1. Amongst the proverbs below choose the one that best suits and summarizes
the
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main
idea of the text.

a. A man is as old as he feels.

b. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
c. Never too late to learn.

2. Complete the table below with information about Nina Huddleston.

Age

Reason for going back to

university

..

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Number of earned degrees

..

3. Find a detail in the text showing that the following statement is false.

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- Nina has been encouraged only by her husband.

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4. Complete the following paragraph with words retrieved from paragraph 2.

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According to business teacher Karen Heslep, Nina is so sociable, helpful and careful that she is
considered a ................................. by all students, young and old. She has in fact
undergone ................................ like no other student.

5. What do the underlined expression in paragraphs 3 and 4 mean?

Tick the right option.

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i. It helped with empty nest syndrome means:

a. the sad feeling of being no longer young
b. the sad feelings which parents have when their children grow up and leave home
c. the fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces or rooms
ii. "When I realized I've got the ability and the power to influence people positively, I
jumped on it.
a .get involved /take part in something very quickly
b. deliver a speech
c. run away so that not to assume responsibility
6. Find in the text 1 words having nearly the same meaning as:
-

superior, excellent, distinguished (prgph 1) =.

7. What does the underlined word in paragraph 2 refer to?

-

It (prgph 3) refers to.

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school?
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8. What do you do if one of your parents, mother or father, decided to go back
to
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Why?
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-II- Language (6 marks)

1. Fill in the blanks with 6 words from the following list.

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intelligence inventor when aboutelectricity think

intelligence inventor when aboutelectricity think
with efficient
with efficient

Every invention is built by incrementally improving earlier designs, and the person usually
associated . an invention is the first person to make it commercially
viable. Such is the case with the light bulb. We immediately think of Thomas Edison as the
electric light bulb's ., but dozens of people were working on similar ideas
in the 1870s, . Edison developed his incandescent bulb. Joseph Swan did
similar work in Britain at the time, and eventually the two merged their ideas into a single
company, Ediswan. You might . the light bulb changed the world by
allowing people to work at night or in dark places (it did, to some extent), but we already
had relatively cheap and . gas lamps and other light sources at the time.
It was actually the infrastructure that was built to provide . to every
home and business that changed the world. Today, our world is filled with powered devices
than we can plug in pretty much anywhere. We have the light bulb to thank for it.
2. Supply the correct tense or form of the bracketed words.
In general, online learning offers many benefits. Since the course material is available at all
times, students may . (work) on the material whenever they wish, without

. (wait) for either a teacher or the class. A student can work at his own pace,
quickly working through . (good) material and concepts that are already
known. Additionally, chat discussions can be archived, allowing a student to reread them at anytime.
In contrast, students at a . (convention) school can miss parts of a classroom

. (discuss) because of boredom or inattentiveness. By having course material

available 24 hours a day, people can study around their life . (commit) and
responsibilities.

-III- Writing (12 marks)

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1- Use the information below - given in order - to write a coherent paragraph
the
UNICEF. Add any missing words and make all necessary changes.

Organization type: a fund / Established : December 11,1946

Director-General: Anthony Lake

Headquarters / Location: New York, USA
Purpose: providing long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to
children and mothers in developing countries.

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2. You read the following ad on the internet:
Virtual schools are the future of education. Now you can study form home while sitting
Virtual schools are the future of education. Now you can study form home while sitting
comfortably at your desk. You dont have to worry about what to wear, the weather, the
comfortably at your desk. You dont have to worry about what to wear, the weather, the
school bus... You will not have to rush for school anymore. You are just a click away from
school bus... You will not have to rush for school anymore. You are just a click away from
making your life easier. Enrol now and school will come to you.
making your life easier. Enrol now and school will come to you.
You didnt agree with what you read because you believe that virtual schools can never replace
traditional ones despite their benefits. For this reason, you decided to write an e-mail as a
reply to the ad to speak about the disadvantages of virtual schools and the importance of
the traditional school experience in everybodys life.
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Criteria

Adherence to task and content

adequacy:
Lexical appropriacy and grammar
accuracy:
Mechanical accuracy:
Total mark:

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